Cytokine Gene Expression in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey Calves Infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

Abstract Text:   Breed susceptibility to Johne’s disease has been suggested, with Jerseys proposed to be more susceptible than Holsteins. A 60-day infection study was carried out by surgically infecting Holstein and Jersey calves with the etiological agent of Johne’s disease, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Differences in the expression of key cytokine transcripts from ileocecal lymph node were not observed between the two breeds during infection, but IL-23 expression in control calves was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the Holsteins than Jerseys. Expression of IFN-γ was also found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in the infected animals from both breeds compared to control animals. These preliminary data using this panel of 8 cytokine genes indicate that differences in immune-related gene expression may exist between these dairy breeds, and that changes in gene expression during Map infection can be detected during the early subclinical phase.Keywords:

Johne’s disease

Breed susceptibility

Cytokine expression